PPP Labour bureau terms budget cruel

LAHORE:Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader and District President of People's Labor Bureau Bahawalpur Syed Amjad Bashir Bukhari, while terming Federal Budget 2025-26 a cruel budget said that the definition of labour should be re-established in the changing political, social and economic conditions.

In a statement issued on Thursday, he said a special package should have been announced to reduce the difficulties of workers of print and electronic media. The minimum wage of labour should be increased to Rs50,000 per month, he said. He also said the agriculture sector has been completely ignored in the budget. Corporate farming should be run under government patronage and practical opportunities should be provided to small farmers to increase production, he added. Agricultural insurance policy should be formulated, a package of agricultural and labour reforms should be prepared separately, said Bokhari. He also demanded the govt conduct probe into the embezzlement of EOBI funds and spend EOBI money on commercial projects for the welfare of labourers. 'We completely reject the 18 percent tax on solar panels.' Given the current rate of inflation, the increase in salaries and pensions is cruelly low. Bokhari went on to say that a special package should be announced for commercial cities adding allocating only Rs15 billion for the Hyderabad-Karachi Motorway is a joke.

This is an anti-trade policy, he commented. Due to poverty and unemployment, life

has become unbearable, no relief has been given to the common man.